Jaguar will be officially revealing the new XFR-S Sportbrake at next month’s Geneva Motor Show. The third model in Jaguar’s R-S range, the XFR-S Sportbrake is the first high-performance sports estate car to be produced by Jaguar.
Building on the XFR-S saloon, the XFR-S Sportbrake’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8 delivers 542 bhp of power and 680Nm of torque with the added functionality of 1675 litres of rear load space when the rear seats are folded flat.
Fitted with an eight-speed transmission incorporating Jaguar’s ‘Quickshift’ technology (developed for the F-TYPE), the increase in engine output allows the estate car to accelerate to 60mph in 4.6 seconds (0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds) and on to an electronically limited top speed of 186mph (300km/h).
The main challenge in the development of the XFR-S Sportbrake was to manage the extra rear mass of the car while retaining the turn-in and response capabilities of its saloon cousin. In order to achieve this, Jaguar engineers say they have tuned the XFR-S Sportbrake’s rear active suspension to cope with the extra weight of the car’s increased rear mass, with the dampers and springs adjusted to match the mass distribution of the car. The anti-roll bars have been changed and the rear axle has been modified, while the rear brakes have been tuned to work in conjunction with the car’s ABS system.
Overall lateral suspension stiffness has been increased by 30 per cent front and rear, with front and rear spring rates increased by the same amount.
As on the XFR-S Saloon, the front suspension knuckles have been revised in line with those found on the XKR-S to achieve the increased camber and castor stiffness which, along with new wheel bearings, improves steering and handling. The steering system also gets the same valving as featured on the F-TYPE.
The rear subframe has enabled revisions to suspension geometry which, allied to stiffer bushes – new rear knuckles and working in tandem with the stiffer springs – increase stability and response over standard XF Sportbrake models, claims Jaguar.
Reflecting the changes under the skin, the external appearance of the XFR-S Sportbrake has been modified too. The extended roofline gives rear-seat passengers an additional 48mm of headroom and the seats offer both a 60:40 split fold function and integral ski hatch. Rear lift has been reduced through the fitment of a spoiler mounted on the top of the rear hatch to manage the airflow off the top rear surface of the car.
The new, deeper front bumper incorporates larger lower central and side air intakes – the former framed in carbon-fibre – in order to provide increased airflow into the engine bay. A front splitter at the lower edge of the bumper provides the first of a number of aerodynamic changes. The extended side sills and aeroblade mouldings behind the front wheels serve to create a break-off point between the lower bodywork and the road surface in order to retain prolonged airflow on the car’s sides. The same thinking dictated the deeper side mouldings behind the rear wheels. This extended rear bumper also incorporates a central, carbon-fibre diffuser, deeper than the item found on the XFR and which travels further under the rear of the car to reduce lift.
Source: Jaguar
